Squad Sigma 13
by LemmingMaster
Summary: An Eclipse team faces down death and comes out, but not unscathed. After joining the N7 Spec Ops, here are the tales of Squad Sigma 1-3. Based on the multiplayer of ME3. Please review.
1. Chapter 1

**I do not own Mass Effect 3. Normally I'd make a pithy comment about the ending but nope. Also, this was an idea that's been bouncing in my head since I started the multiplayer. Maybe I'll expound upon it. Maybe not. Depends on how you guys like it. Read, Review, and Rondelle.**

I dove for cover as a hail of bullets slammed into the bulkhead where he had just been. The Eclipse squad I was a part of had been diverted to provide cover for evacuating civilians, but was now being overrun.

_Fucking Aria, _I thought. _We could be in Purgatory right now, getting drunk and banging women._ An explosion from the other side of my cover jarred him out of his reverie. As I sighed heavily, I opened my comm link.

"Squad 3, this is Uthar. Report in." A crackle of silence greeted me, downing my already ow hopes. "Squad 3, I swear to whatever you believe in, if you're all dead I'll piss on your corpses." _I'm not even squad leader, this shouldn't be my job_. However, I had taken on the responsibility shortly after they'd landed when one of those Cerberus whores leapt out of a window and gutted him with a sword. Who the hell used a sword anymore? A burst of static blurted out of his comm, and the voice gave me the tiniest bit of hope.

"Uthar, this is Danielson. I've got Raiel with me, where'd you go? We could use your drone over here." I rolled my eyes. _It just had to be those two. At least I'll have a big gun and biotics on my side…_Danielson repeated the question and sounded slightly more urgent this time.

"Danielson, Raiel, I'm near what looks like the 400 block of this shitty apartment block. My drone's distracted with not getting me killed. Feel like throwing the asari over here to let her kill a few people with her mind? Or just to look hot, I'm fine either way. But fire support would make me a much happier person…" I heard Raiel snort over the comm with a muttered "Yeah, that's not happening." Danielson shushed her.

"See if you can get to us. We're in the 200 block, in the clearing. We've got a shuttle 10 minutes out , and Ledra's turret is still up from before he went down, so you should have cover. Get here." The comm went dead again and I hung my head. _I'm a goddamned engineer. They hired me to set things on fire and fix their shit. _Glancing at my pistol, I smiled. _At least my Carnifex still works. Here goes nothing._ Reactivating my drone and sending it around the entrenched Cerberus troops, I broke cover and took off for the nearest house, bounding through the doors as Cerberus was distracted. Seeing a civilian raise a gun, I ripped off my helmet. "Eclipse! I'm Eclipse! We're giving you cover but you gotta move with me now. Shuttle's 10 minutes out at the 200 block and I am not missing it because some civvie shot me. So I get you out, you don't shoot me, and we all get drunk. That a plan?" The woman nodded. "Good. I'll move first, because I'm gentlemanly and shit. Seal those doors behind you. We're moving now."

The next 5 minutes were a blur of running, shouting, cursing, and shooting. I grinned. _That girl can hold her own, I'll give her that. She's fighting harder scared than I've seen krogan fight angry. I think I'm in love._ As they sprinted into the clearing of the 200 block, a shout of happiness greeted them. "You glorious idiot! I knew you'd make it alive, or at least not entirely dead." Glancing at the civilian, Danielson's face softened. "Was she the only one who made it?" I nodded. "Shit. We're not cut out for this, man. Ledra and Vychun are dead and all the civvies we had got killed by one of those turrets. They ran out there like lemmings before we could stop them. Where the hell are the evac shuttles?" The girl stepped forward, eyes welling up.

"They all got shot down. Even the ones filled with people. Yours is the only one coming. It's our only hope." I grabbed her as she slid to the ground and moved her to cover.

"Raiel, I need your help. You asari are good with people, right? Keep her calm until the shuttle gets here. Danielson and I can keep you covered." To her credit, she didn't give me any shit like she usually does and just sat in front of the woman, whispering encouraging words. I slid over to Danielson. "Hey, buddy. How goes life?"

He stared at me. "Oh, it's just great, pumpkin. Today I got up, and I had some milk, and then I almost got killed several times by Cerberus, and then your ass showed up. So it was great until that last part." He visibly sagged as he sighed. "We've lost 3 people giving these people cover. Not a single mech lasted more than 15 minutes, and the shuttle's still 2 minutes out." I perked up.

"2 minutes? How is that bad? We can be out of here and drunk just like that!" Danielson nodded.

"But we failed. And before he died, Ledra tapped into their comms. They just dropped 3 of the huge mech suits they have into the area. Heading straight here, and they're closing fast. We have to hold them off while Raiel and the civilian get safe." My face blanched. "What? You thought you'd make it out of this? You're not Shepard. You're some engineer with a pistol. You can't even use this right." He hefted his Revenant to make a point. "But what you are Eclipse. You die with pride, or at least screaming horrible things about your target's mother." I smiled, remembering the pep talk we'd been given when we joined, then thrown into the training. His face jerked upward, listening. "Get ready. They're coming." I readied my drone and set it to a choke point, then queued up a special Overload I'd created. Combining electricity to drop shields with a potent toxin to shut down the person, I could drop anyone who didn't have incredibly thick armor. And if they did, that's where the Incinerate I got from Gotak gave me came from. He may have been a dick, but for a batarian and squad leader, he was alright. And he was saving my life from beyond the grave with this thing. A single trooper ran around the corner of the clearing, and Ledra's turret proved useful already, filling him with more bullets than Ledra himself. _Heh. Ledra would have liked that one. _One of the ninja whores launched herself over the turret and drew her sword in the same motion, eliciting a cry of "Horeshit!" from Danielson as he filled the air in front of him with bullets. I whipped around and, pointing my omni-tool, sparked her barriers for a second before flooding her body with a potent toxin. Her twitching as she felt it course through her body gave me a borderline sociopathic glee.

"Alright _Clair_, target's fleshy!" I heard several unkind words about my mother and some farm animals as I used Danielson's first name, but as he currently needed me to cover him, I was safe. And when you considered we had at least a fourth of Cerberus' ground troops trying to kill us, I figured he had more to worry about. As I ducked back into cover to let my shield recharge, I checked my ammo. _Shit. 2 clips left and no ammo packs…_I sprinted over to Danielson, who was shouting all sorts of challenges to the troops at the bottleneck. "Hey! I need an ammo pack, I'm low."

Choosing not to respond, he instead shrugged his pack off his back and let spare clips spill from it. "You see that? Even this puny little nerd is holding you off! And we're not even wearing helmets, you pussies! You know who's stopping you? Not N7! Not Spec Ops! Not Shepard! Eclipse! We are Eclipse, and we fucked your moth-" The end of his insult was cut off as a laser sight beamed onto his forehead, and in the same second, fired. I heard Raiel give a cry of horror as she looked up to see why the massive soldier had stopped what was a battlefield norm for him and saw him topple onto the upturned ATM he'd been using as cover, obviously dead. Dragging his bulk down behind it, I looked at the ETA of the shuttle. Less than 30 seconds. I could do this.

"Raiel, stay down and get a barrier over you two! I'm borrowing his gun for a bit." Hefting the weapon that was possibly illegal in most Citadel space, I steadied it on the blood-covered impromptu cover. The feeling of opening fire with that was one of complete joy.

Until the Atlas mech showed up. My joy turned to fear. "Raiel, I need an ETA!" Her soothing voice tinged with panic and relief came over the explosions.

"It's here! Drop the gun and let's go!" I complied and launched my drone one last time, as well as firing off Incinerates as fast as the super-heated plasma could recharge. As I turned and ran, I saw my friend and the civilian in the shuttle, with a door gunner providing cover in the only way they know how, bullet spam. I leapt the last feet into the open shuttle doors and into safety as the slammed shut behind me and, feeling the transport shudder and it rocketed off of the godawful planet we'd been on, allowed myself a sigh of relief. As I laid on the floor, I realized we weren't in an Eclipse shuttle, or even Blue Suns. This had Alliance markings. Motioning for Raiel, she knelt next to me.

"Where's our shuttle? Where's our people? Where are the other teams?" The biotic shook her head.

"None of them made it. Those who didn't die were captured. We're the only ones who got out." I stared blankly. We'd sent 50 people down there, 10 five man squads. Two of us made it out. A 98% fatality rate.

"How many civilians got out? Did _any_ get out? Don't lie to me, I couldn't take it." She looked down, then back at me, with a sad smile.

"A lot got out, but the rest were taken before we landed. We did the best we could." I fell back down onto the floor, armor clunking heavily.

"She's right." Both of us glanced at the Alliance marine standing in the doorway. "You did the best, considering Eclipse's specialties consisted of tech and throwing mechs at a problem. I want to talk to the both of you when we land. About joining the Special Operations teams we have."

**Let me know what you think? Thanks.**


	2. Chapter 2

**I don't own ME3 or anything, actually. I'm kind of broke. Also, when you get a chance, go read Task Force Hydra by iNf3ctioNZ, and Galaxy At War: N7 by iBayne. They're like this is going to be, but much better written.**

I sat in Purgatory, slamming drinks with my back to the crowd. A massive Marine stood next to me, a small smile on his face. "What's your problem, pendejo?" I rolled my eyes.

"Aside from the fact everyone in my squad save one died on Benning, as well as the platoon I was with, and the whole galactic war going on, nothing. My life is fucking _peachy_. What do you want?" The man's eyebrow rose up and his face clouded.

"Your team died? What ID you with, 3rd? I heard they took a beating." I shook my head.

"I'm Eclipse. Seth Uthar, engineer. I shoot the plasma that makes people fall down. Who're you?" I turned on my stool, getting a better look at him, and dear God he was large.

"Name's James Vega, I'm one of Shepard's ground pounders." I couldn't keep my surprise off my face. "Yeah, I know. It's pretty cool. But that's not why I'm talkin' to you. You said everyone died?" I nodded. "And what did you do?"

"I picked up the biggest gun near me and kept fire on the Cerberus position until the shuttle got there. We were evacuating civilians. Only got one out, with a 96% casualty rate."

"Reports from Benning say it was a 98% rate. Still, that's too many people to lose like that." I shook my head.

"Nah, it's 96%. Some sort of VI error doing the final tally. Only other person who made it out was the asari in my squad. I think she's playing 'How Much Can My Liver Take?' while searching for a night ride, if you know what I mean." Vega chuckled at that. I was starting to like this guy.

"Well, if she's looking for that, I've got some free time….Nah. But, you seem like an alright guy. You said you held off Cerberus, when most would've bailed. You've heard about the N7 Spec Ops squads, right?" I muttered the affirmative.

"One of the guys on the shuttle tried to get me to talk to someone about enlisting. I didn't pay much attention. Too busy figuring out why everyone died."

"Well, now _I'm_ talking to you about it. And I'm much larger than him, and you probably like me more than him. So come on, puto, go see if your asari friend wants to come with us and we'll get you back killing Cerberus and whoever else shows up. You ready?"

Say what you will about the chest thumping moto bullshit, but after a few drinks and a large man shouting at you? It works.

"YEAH! I'm in. But wouldn't I have to qualify for it?" I deflated slightly. "N7 means the best. I'm Eclipse. We throw mechs at problems." Vega shook his head.

"Doesn't matter! Shepard's walking up now, and he's a Spectre. I bet he'll approve it." If you've ever what it was like to shit your pants in awe and fear, this was it. Shepard walked up to Vega, smiling. A dark, powerfully built man with piercing grey eyes. He emitted a calming aura, the kind you couldn't feel unless you were near him. I felt my worries slowly sink to nothing.

"Vega, I knew I'd find you here. Who's your friend? Some soldier who's not gonna remember shore leave, but wake up with some tattoos and married to a quarian?" Vega laughed.

"Not this time, anyway. This is Uthar. He's Eclipse, and I'm thinking you can get him on the N7 squads. He faced down Cerberus alone after his squad died in the city fighting of Benning. Considering he's both Eclipse and an engineer, I think that says something." Shepard nodded slowly, considering.

"You say you did this alone? Did anyone else survive?" I nodded at the legend.

"An asari adept on my squad, Raiel, and a civilian. One other almost made it out but was shot before the shuttle got there. The asari kept the civvy safe in a barrier, so I was the only one who could provide cover." I pounded the rest of my drink at the memory of Danielson's face exploding.

"James, Sigma 12 never reported back from their last mission, correct?"

"Yeah, Loco, we lost contact with them about 12 hours after they landed. No updates, considered KIA, assumed KIA." Shepard's eyes narrowed the smallest bit at the unwelcome bad news.

"Alright, Uthar. If James vouches for you, I'm going to use my mystical Spectre powers-" At this, Shepard began to wave his hands like a ghost,"-and induct you into the N7 squads. Anyone you'd wish to bring with?"

"The asari. Raiel. She's a fantastic adept and surprisingly good with a gun."

"I'll make it so. Report to Dock 16 when you're ready. And you should probably tell the your friend she's heading back into combat. I think she's heading this way." I turned and saw he was correct, Raiel was stomping over with a devilish gleam, and possibly alcohol, in her eyes. "And she's either very annoyed or very happy to see you. I never could tell. However, I've gotta meet my girl. I owe her a dance." With that, he shook our hands and strolled over to the angry looking woman at a table by herself.

"SETHY!" I cringed, and James chuckled.

"I asked you never to call me that. Hell, I _paid_ you not to call me that. What do you want?"

"Was that Shepard? And who is this? And what is N7? And why is your drink empty?" The barrage of questions stunned me, but thankfully, James stepped in.

"Yes, I'm James Vega, N7 is what he's joining up with and possibly you as well, and because he drained his drink." Raiel's eyes widened.

"You're joining the N7 teams? And you want to bring ME? Goddess, what is your problem? I thought you were smarter than this. Why would I want to go back into that shitstorm?" I stared at her.

"To avenge our team and help save the galaxy. As much as I'd like to sit here, drinking heavily, and believe me, I do, we need to help. Go with me now or go later, but promise you'll go." Raiel took a step back, actually shocked.

"You hated Danielson. And Gotak. Why the sudden need to help?"

"Because. The galaxy needs to survive. If it doesn't, guess what, we're all dead. So," I turned to James, "It's been a pleasure, fight well, and if you put any more drinks on my tab I'll kill you." I heard him mutter a quiet curse at his free drink train coming to an end, because he knew I'd caught on. Looking back to Raiel, I hugged her. "I'm going now. See you next time." I turned and left Purgatory, heading for the elevator.

The ride down to the docks always was worse alone.

The elevator chimed as I reached Dock 16. All my gear had been in my hotel, so I had it couriered down to meet me there. A street urchin held up a duffel bag filled with my things, with my name scrawled on the side. Cute. I tossed him 50 credits and patted his head. As I walked toward the door, an Alliance Marine appeared.

"This bay's for N7 Operatives only. Unless you have clearance, I'm going to have to ask you leave, Mister…." I stuck my hand out.

"Uthar. Seth Uthar. My clearance should be coming through from Cmdr. Shepard in a few minutes, if not now." The soldier's eyed ballooned in shock, and his omni-tool pinged. Sure enough, my clearance came through. The man stepped aside, apologizing. "It's no problem, I would've thrown my ass out the second I showed up." He chuckled.

"Wait till you see who else we've got in there. Best of luck, Mr. Uthar." He saluted and went back to his post, opening the door. Beyond that laid the airlock to the SSV Chicago, the ship it seemed I was shipping out on. As the doors slid open, I heard murmured conversations of many different races. As my eyes adjusted, I finally put species to the voices. Asari, batarians, turians, quarians, krogan….And those were just the ones I could see.

This was either going to be very interesting, or very bad. Or possibly both. I never did have the best luck.

**Okay, I'm sorry I took so long to get this up, but, I'm lazy and kind of a drunk. First up, thanks to those who read and review, it helps to know people are actually reading this. Second, I made up the name Uthar on the spot, it's not a reference to Galaxy At War: N7's character Uthar, but hey, if it gets me readers, I'll pretend I did. Third, I genuinely have no idea what the characters in the squad will be, I'm still going through ideas(READ: beer) so it may be a bit. Fourth, if you've read my other stories, you know at some point Chicago's going to appear. That's because I love Chicago. Gonna be honest, the only reason I included Vega and Shep is because every time I wrote this before, it came out like a literary abortion. Bar fights, romance, all that shit, turns out? I can't write. Fights, yes, romance, no. So I hope you enjoy the final product. Here's hoping I update faster and don't run out of writer fuel. Enjoy!**


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